Back to the Grind

Chancho is officially back to work today. So here starts the never seeing one another phase. I must admit I was spoiled for the week we spent together, but isn't that how it always goes? I am working mornings and he is working nights = just missing each other.

Anyways, I got a lovely text from him today informing me he made it safely to work on his motorcycle, (I get nervous when he rides it into work) but included in this text was some good news and bad news. The good news was that he got a certificate from the police commissioner for never being sick for one full year. The bad news, he got a command discipline. (His first in 3 years) It turns out that when he worked a shift for a marathon he was told to wear a traffic vest. Little did he know that they were issued a new one two months prior. End result, he wore the wrong one, which looks different and now he's got a CD. Grrrrr More good news though, his captain seems to like him more than other officers and instead of taking away precious vacation time he only gave him a warning and admonished. Phew! I would have been pretty ticked if he got vacation taken away due to a lousy vest. I don't really understand how that system works. Chancho states that he wasn't aware of this "new vest" change. How can he not know that there was a change in uniform? Isn't there some sort of precinct memo that goes around? I mean it could be a possibility that he just ignored it or missed it because he never has the need to wear a traffic vest, but still to lose a vacation day over a vest seems a bit harsh. Who knew they even enforced something like that. To me, I think they would have better things to enforce.

Enough about vests, a little venting needs to be done on the job search. A quick background, I recently graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice, minor Sociology. Therefore I have a wide variety of options to choose from in the job field, but that also makes it tough to narrow it down to what exactly I want to do. I've been searching company sites, job search sites, government sites, city and county sites, and have yet to find anything available to me. I can't even find a civil service exam that I could qualify for or am interested in. I am becoming very discouraged and frustrated. I have been told numerous times that I just need to be patient and something will come my way. Patience is not a strong point for me, I guess this will be good practice. Hopefully I won't be practicing for too long!

Listening to: If Today Was Your Last Day by Nickelback

Woodford State Park

Great news! Camping was a huge success with Chancho. He has deemed it his favorite hobby now and wants to go back again soon. We talked about a fall camping trip. We traveled to Woodford State Park in Bennington, Vermont and set up camp on Thursday. It was a little stressful for me at times because I had to explain everything and make all of the decisions, but I'm taking it as a learning experience for myself. After setting up camp we took a "hike" around the reservoir. It was a loop that went around it. It was a good first hike for Chancho. We weren't able to make a fire the first night because the wood was soaked through and wouldn't light, which was very disappointing to Chancho, that was the one thing he wanted out of the trip. Friday we woke up and made our breakfast and then decided to go for a hike. We made it to the trail and about 5 minutes into it we heard thunder and the woods started to get really dark so we had to head back to the campground. The storm wasn't quite at the campground yet so Chancho suggested we take the kayaks out on the water so that's what we did and just in time because as we were finishing up it started to pour. The clouds opened up and let our tarp and tent have it. The tarp we had set up over our picnic table collapsed on us. Our tent leaked. I was miserable and Chancho lay in the tent snoring away like a freight train. My best friend since 4th grade made the trip up and stayed for the night with her boyfriend. The rain thankfully cleared up for us to make a fire and we were able to have a relaxing evening. Saturday we packed up in the rain and were home in time for the Yankee game. Overall this was a good first trip. We bonded a lot and now have found an activity that I think we will enjoy doing in the future.

My vacation is over and I sadly had to be up for work at 4am this morning. Chancho still has one more day left of his vacation. He's busy running errands. I hate returning to work after such a great vacation. It should make it easier, but it really only makes it worse knowing that you don't get another great vacation until next year.

I leave you once again with a picture from our trip - the view of the reservoir from our hike:

Woody Hill

Sadly I am home from our vacation in Rhode Island. It was just fantastic! I didn't want to leave. I kept asking if we could afford to stay another night, but our wallets wouldn't allow it. We arrived early afternoon at Woody Hill Bed and Breakfast, on one of the hottest days of the year. We dropped our stuff off in our room, the Family Room, which is the biggest of the 3 choices. We didn't really need that room, but it did have a deck and a private bath, so it was a good choice. Ellen, the hostess, gave us a tour of the house and then led us down to the private pool. We swam and sunbathed all afternoon. Once the sun went down we ventured off to go find some dinner. We figured we would head over to Stop and Shop and pick up some chicken because there was a grill available for us to use, so that's what we did for dinner.
We made a lovely little dinner for 2. Then we decided to drive towards the beaches to check out where we would be spending the rest of our time. It turns out that there is a little bit of a night life there, with mini golf, bars, go-karts, and plenty of restaurants. After that we headed back to Woody Hill and even though there was a TV we decided to play card games instead. I was able to win every game we played, however Chancho was a good sport and continued to play.
We were up early for breakfast at 8am with complimentary continental breakfast made by Ellen. She joined us and chatted with us about where we were from, what we were planning on doing and of course offered us her help in anyway. She showed us a map of all the different beaches and gave us the pros and cons to each one. We decided on going the distance to Watch Hill beach. They really robbed us of our money in parking ($15!!) but we walked around to the tip of the peninsula to get onto the beach instead of paying another $12 for the beach pass. It was just gorgeous. The water was a bit cold, but still warm enough to go in. We were also early enough to get our pick of sand. The sand itself was so soft! I could walk on that all day long. The only bad part was that because it was soft, it was lighter than the other corser sand so it was easily blown by the wind. We picked the hottest day of the year, a blazing 92 degrees, but with the wind it didn't seem too bad. I actually fell asleep for a while and woke up with many people surrounding us. After the beach, we stopped in at a local ice cream shop and grabbed some frozen lemonade and ice tea.

Chancho didn't have enough sun so when we got back to Woody Hill we went straight to the pool. I layed out and covered my face, it was turning into a tomato. Ellen stopped by to see how we were doing and when we asked her of her suggestions for dinner she gave us a few options so we checked them out. The first one we stopped at was the Up River Cafe, it was a little too expensive for us so we went with the second option, which was 84 High Street. Let me tell you, it was the best food I have had in a long time. It was delicious. We started out with an appetizer of crab cakes. I had the Chicken -n-chokes, which is chicken and artichoke hearts mixed with penne pasta. Sooo good. Chancho of course had the New York Strip Steak. He never goes with anything unusual in fear of not liking it. However we do have a rule that with every meal that he eats with me, he must try something new. Most of the times, he likes it. It's a good way to broaden his horizens and to be fair whenever he has something that is new to me, I have to try it. He's peruvian, so this comes up often. Finally, for dessert, we had the turtle cheesecake, which put me into a food coma. It was ridiculously good. A really great food experience all around.

The Yankee game was on so when we got back to Woody Hill, we found a radio and listened to a few innings before we passed out. Woke up again for breakfast and unfortunately left to come home again. Over all this was such a pleasant experience. Ellen was just terrific, I cannot get over how great she was. She was there to help us with anything we needed. The house was beautiful and nicely kept, along with the pool. She even had a cat named Jenny who was very friendly. The house itself is literally 2 miles away from beaches and it's secluded enough to take you away to a secluded sanctuary. We decided that this is a place that we want to make part of our traditional summer trips. It was everything we wanted. So without a doubt, I would recommend this place a hundred times over. It is even open in the winter and for special occasions like a wedding.

Now, it's time to start packing for our camping trip. We leave tomorrow morning. Chancho is out getting his oil changed and picking up some last minute items from our list. I hope all goes well with this trip, and no rain! I'll update, when we get back on Saturday. I leave you with one last picture from the beach:

Vacation

Officially on vacation. Chancho is too. He came home from an overnight at 11:45am this morning and slept while I worked til 5pm. We've been busy doing last minute errands to prepare for our trips. Tomorrow we head to Rhode Island to celebrate our anniversary. I'm looking forward to this more than anything! Then Thursday morning we leave for Vermont. Notice the change of location. We had a our friends back out of camping. I took it upon myself to encourage Chancho to still go camping. I gave him a map of a few campgrounds and he picked out one in Vermont! I of course had to look it over to make sure it met all of my criteria for camping. If there was water (creek/river/lake), hiking trails, trees, and lots campsites to choose from. It met all of those and so we're going! It did take me a long time to settle down from being beyond pissed off at our friends for canceling, and I still am mad, but it is what it is so I'll just deal with it. I should have known that something would have gone wrong. I tend to just go with the flow and don't let things bother me, but this for some reason has really bothered me. Hopefully this is a blessing in disguise.

I am off for the week and I will be sure to post pictures and update about how our lovely week together goes!

Redecorating

I've been occupying my time this past week with the decision to go ahead with redecorating my room. I'm attempting to make into a NYC themed room. I don't have many things done, and a very vague image in my head as to what the end result should look like, but it's definitely a work in progress. The idea came from when I was up in bumblefuck NY at college and I wanted to have "home" with me. I raided the school bookstore and bought every poster they had of NYC skyline and times square. It helped remind me that there was still a city that had stores that were open 24/7 and within walking distance rather than a 45 min. drive and lights so bright that you couldn't see the stars. As a result, I know have these posters at home and I'd like to still get some use out of them rather than throwing them away.

My main focus is pictures. It is a huge hobby of mine and it takes up a lot of space and sadly money. I love black and white photography. My grandfather has a lovely 35mm camera that has been passed down to me and I've taken advantage of that. I'd some day like to have a dark room myself. I can get lost in one for hours at a time. It truly is relaxing. So surrounding my NYC posters, I've decided to put up pictures that I've taken around NYC. I have just discovered the art of using black and white along with adding just a touch of color to it. The next set of pictures that must be hung up are from my years at college. Which means there are endless photos that could be hung up, but I have to somehow figure out how to narrow it down to only a few.

The next focus is paint color. I'd like to do the room red, for the big apple, but I know that painting a room red is just a disaster waiting to happen. For that reason, I'm going to stray away from it and try blue. However, I'm thinking that that might have the same problem, unless I do a lighter blue, but I'm not too sure I could handle a light blue room. I have curtains that are white with dark blue stripes, so I had the thought to do the walls an off white with one wall that had blue stripes to match the curtains. It would be the wall without a window. It might work and it could also bring in the Yankees aspect of NYC. Still lots to ponder about.

The Sun's Shining!

Sunday we broke our streak of not seeing one another. Prior to helping get the food ready for the family gathering I headed over to the deli where he was working. I surprised him for a few minutes. He was nice enough to make me a breakfast sandwich, which gave us more time to enjoy one another's company. That was the last day that he had to work 2 full time jobs. YAY! It was worth it though. The money he made went towards a lot of things that would have made his regular paycheck stretch out a lot more. The family gathering went well. Everyone was happy to be around one another. Wedding pictures were shared and chatted about. It's always a good time when NJ meets NY again.

Monday was our quality time day. I had Chancho for a full day! We started the day off with visiting the Postsecret gallery in CT. Postsecret has been a sunday morning ritual for me since I began college. Every Sunday Frank Warren posts new postcards that he recieves in the mail. It began when he asked strangers to mail him their secrets on a postcard annonymously. The secrets that are out there are help you realize that you are not alone. It was great being able to see the postcards up close and personal. It was an experience that I was happy to share with Chancho. It ended up giving us some great conversation. I am a big fan of this project, however I have yet to send in a postcard of my own. Maybe one day...

Chancho has a weird week this week. Instead of working his usual night shift, he is working days. He is home by 7pm this entire week. I think I'm going to enjoy this too much. We'll be able to enjoy Yankee games together now instead of me texting him with every important move they make. Then next week is our vacation week!! Our tent arrived in the mail yesterday. We put it up just in time for a terrific thunderstorm. It's a semi big tent, with just enough room for two cots. After the thunderstorm was over, we checked it to see if it leaked and sadly it did. I believe it only leaked because we didn't stake it down. There wasn't enough room in the front yard to put it up correctly. I'm crossing my fingers that at the campground we'll have the space and it won't leak. I'm also hoping that we won't have to worry about rain because we're going camping for the beach and I don't want to be sitting in campsite when I could be laying on the beach. Hopefully all works out!

It sure is mighty hot out today. I can only imagine the officers in their vests sweating outside today doing their jobs. I'll be in the basement today in the cool air cleaning it up to make room for an organized camping area. I love working at The Container Store. Not only do they give out an awesome discount, but they have made my life so much more organized!

Listening to : Carrie Underwood "We're Young and Beautiful"

Keep on Keepin on

Day 3 of not seeing Chancho. Tomorrow will hopefully end that streak. We barely have had time to talk to one another. Thank goodness for texts. Without that we probably wouldn't have contacted one another yet. Crazy busy days mean no time for each other. I cannot wait to get back to our regular routine. For me that starts tomorrow.

My friends have left after a wonderful visit. They were able to witness a fabulous Yankees vs Red Sux game. I am very jealous that I was only able to see it on TV. I was their tourguide around NYC for it was their first time ever going there. We did all of the tourist sight seeing spots. I took advantage and took some pictures myself. We must have stuck out like a sore thump though because they were getting stopped left and right to see things. They unfortunately got suckered into spending $20 for 4 lousy pieces of candy. I had to laugh at them when I turned around to see them walking towards me bewildered at what just happened. From then on they practiced how to say no. It turned out to be a lovely day for a walk around the city. It wasn't too hot and there was a breeze to cool us down after walking long distances.

The BBQ went well. Not too many questions about why I was there alone. It still baffles me as to how many people can't understand the hours that people work. There are always follow up questions to why he works until 1am every night. People must not understand that crime occurs at all hours and not just from 9-5. I was a little too exhausted to partake in a lot of the festivities, but that seemed to work out fine as I watched another amazing Yankee game. 15 innings worth! and a win!

Better get ready for another long day of work! Here is a photo from the trip to NYC:

View of Statue of Liberty from Battery Park

Busy Busy Busy

Busy week and thankfully halfway through it. Rough start to it and hopefully will only get better. Chancho has been working ridiculous amounts this week and I have been lucky to spend time with him. He stopped over yesterday to allow me to pick up my DVDs that have been banging around in his trunk since our trip to Cleveland, Ohio 2 months ago. He dropped off a sandwich for me this afternoon before heading to work. I must say that I love the little things he does for me. They really do count. He has been busy working at a deli every morning filling in for the owner as he is away on vacation. So this means that he is up at 8am every morning working until 1pm. Then he goes to work at 2:30pm and doesn't get home until 1am. Crazy I say, but as he nicely put it, this week of working at the deli has paid for our Bed and Breakfast trip. Well worth it in that case, I suppose. I'm not sure how his body handles it. He sleeps so much as it is and then to work every morning, something I'm not sure I could do. To put some more stress to an already stressful week, it is the beginning of the month again which means he starts at 0 again. Pressure is on to make more arrests and with a week off to not make any he needs to be a little more aggressive. However, he can't this week because he can't go to court in the mornings because of working at the deli. Yet, somehow I got the text of "Babe, I got a collar!" confused as to how he was going to pull this off I asked how that was possible with work tomorrow morning. It turns out it was only a marijuana arrest. Nothing that requires court. He now has one arrest this month which makes me happy because he's not too far behind.

I start working again this Thursday. Of course they are the lovely hours that make me work while Chancho is home and I get home just in time for when he is leaving for work. Just how luck would have it. Zach and Chris should be here at that time, so that will keep me busy. Family will also be here as well. Thursday seems to be just another busy day.

I'm off to clean up for Zach and Chris so that they will have some place nice to stay.

Listening to: Faber Drive, "When I'm With You"

Pitching Tents

We unfortunately did not make it to our new bike path location yesterday. It turned out that Chancho had way too much going on that he wouldn't be able to go, plus we would have had to have woken up at the crack ass of dawn to go. Biking is not that important to me. Instead we spent the morning together at his place. Always a favorite of mine. After his paid detail at 930pm, we were able to spend the rest of an early evening together. Lots of quality time yesterday for a day that he had to work.

I started our planning of our camping trip that is coming up in 2 weeks. I am not thrilled of the location, but I will deal with it. We will be pitching our tents at Hammonasset Beach State Park. Our loop is the Mohawk section. It seems there is a little walk to the beach, but that shouldn't be bad. This campground is no where near what I would usually camp. I was not the one to pick this place out, but a friend of mine. He set it up and reserved it for us. Granted neither of us were ever there. I google earthed it and found that there are zero trees growing in any area of the campground. It will definitely make it interesting. This will be my first beach camping experience. We even have to pay for our fire rings! This is just ridiculous to me. To not only have to pay for a fire ring, but then to buy wood on top of it because they don't allow you to bring wood in yourself! I assume this is all a money making scheme, but it also puts a damper on me enjoying my stay. I'm sure I'll have lots to say when I get back from it. I am a very picky camper when I go. I have been camping since I was an infant. Our family really roughs it, compared to a lot of other people. A few times we have gone places where there are no bathrooms, which means, you have to dig. Yet, I almost rather that then a pit bathroom, because the whole holding your breath as you pee and running out gasping for air because you can't stand the stench gets old really quick. Another aspect of camping that is usually a must, is having some form of stream nearby for us to explore. That usually takes up all the free time that accompanies camping. Wading into the stream and seeing how far you can go and where it leads to is always a fun time. We also have to go hiking. And not just a lazy hike. There has to be some higher level of difficulty to it. My favorite hike thus far included a warning sign saying the "hike may cause death, proceed at your own risk". You were basically hiking straight up a mountain. There were iron bars and ladders on the mountain to help you climb up. One slip and you could fall down to your death. It was exhilarating. This however will be Chancho's first camping experience ever. We're taking it easy to ease him into it. Only a few days and there is a regular bathroom, no hikes and a beach. I am determined to make him like it. Next year we'll make it more like a camping trip I'm used to and see how he does.

Moving on to next weeks events. Sunday will be a family get together at our house to celebrate all of the birthdays. We have 3 august birthdays, which include, my brother, mother and brother-in-law. Then we have my sister's birthday which is early in sept. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone. It is a rare occasion to have everyone back at the parents house because they've all moved to NJ. We'll be able to use the new patio furniture. It's big enough to fit the entire family now. Unlike our small older, but very useful table that only held 4 people for our 5 person family which is growing quickly. Still waiting to be an Aunt though...it'll happen one day.

This weeks events include visitors! Two friends from college will be staying at my house while they take advantage of my close location to the city. One is like a brother to me and I'm so excited to be seeing him. I'm very lucky to have a visit so soon after leaving school, so I'm going to be treasuring this. They have plans to see the Yankees! They're playing the horrendous team The Red Sux. I don't have the money to spend tickets to see the game, even though I'd love to go. I'll spend the day with them on Friday when they go into the city to see Ground Zero and the Statue of Liberty. After they leave I'll be attending the annual summer BBQ at a friends house. It will mark the anniversary of Chancho and I becoming official. However, he won't be there to celebrate with me. He has to work. We're hoping he'll get an arrest and make it to the party. But I've already told myself he's not coming so there won't be any disappointment when he tells me that he really won't be joining me.

Chancho update: He got into an accident this morning on his way to his 2nd job. Everyone is alright and there wasn't even a problem with the car. Fortunately he was driving his beat up car, so even if something did happen, it would just match the rest of it! haha Thankful he is okay though :)

Look Toward The Future

After all of the fuss of Chancho not possibly spending the day with me at the beach, the weather went and ruined it for us. It poured uncontrollably all day so our plans for the beach were put on the back seat. We were however able to enjoy a breakfast at Ihop and somehow he convinced me to watch The Knowing.

From there I spent the rest of my day without my companion. It was a little awkward at first, I felt like the 5th wheel, but it wasn't too bad. We made our travels to the Palisades mall. I was able to do some window shopping, some close calls in spending money that I don't have, but overall it was a good day. I spent 7 hours there!! Not all shopping though. The 5 of us ate dinner at Dave & Busters. I had a lot of fun. Even though Chancho texted me when he got to his post and explained that the last year that the area he was posted at there were 5 shootings, I was still able to maintain a positive attitude and have fun. I have faith in the training that he has and I leave the rest up to the big man.

He is out at a decent time this evening, but we're not going to see each other until tomorrow. This way we can spend more time in each others company while awake. Hopefully, he doesn't bail on our bike trip tomorrow. He is beginning to mention work being the reason for not having enough time. I don't want him to be overtired and that be the reason he gets hurt tomorrow over a simple bike trip that we took, to please me.

In talking to friends the common advice that I have gotten from mulitple people is that I just need to "look toward the future". I guess that they are right. For this moment, the bike trip and spending time together seems to me to be the world, but in the long run how is that going to help us as a couple if we are in debt and can't afford to get a house because our credit isn't good. I just keep reminding myself this is not always going to be this crummy.

Brighter Things

After calming down a bit, I can focus on some brighter things going on in my life. Which includes my lovely cat climbing over the keyboard as I'm trying to type. I'm glad I did decide to do this blog because in doing so I have been able to read many other blogs and I've noticed that my last post, is not alone in this world. In fact so many have written about this problem and it helps me realize that I'm not being entirely ridiculous and it is okay for me to be upset, but it also puts me into perspective about the fact that this is something that IS going to happen whether I like it or not. I need to start having realistic expectations about days that could potentially be our "quality" days. Not having such high expectations will help when that all too familiar text/call comes my way.

For the brighter things, I'm going to focus on our most recent "quality time" activity. We have made a promise to one another that regardless of how busy our days are we will go bike riding together on one of our days off, either Sunday or Monday. This means even if it requires us to wake up earlier than 1pm. Because he is so busy with work and I do have much more flexible hours and more days off, it is my job to plan our adventures. We have already taken on the task of bicycling the South County Trailway and the North County Trailway. We both grew up in the same area so we have both already conquered the Bronx River Trailway. Now it is my job to find us something a bit more difficult. I've decided that we should move on from paved pathways and attempt a dirt path. Westchester Mountain Bike Association (wmba) seems to be a good place to start out on. The site was very helpful. They were able to provide maps of each of the trails and even other areas that are not in the area. It also includes rules for the trails, which I'm sure we will need to know as this will be our first encounter of riding on real paths. A few blocks away from my house is an area where I was able to ride on dirt pathways as a child, but it is in no way a real path that is meant for the public to use. It was just something my brother and I were able to enjoy growing up. Hopefully this new website will keep us busy until the end of the summer. Which might I add, is quickly coming to an end.

Here are a few pictures from our last bike ride:

Here is the paved pathway, nicely covered with trees.

Our bikes. Mine is blue (Blueberry) and his is red (Mulberry). Corny I know.

A lovely view of the stream that we rode by a few times.

Let Down

Once again the typical situation arrives and I'm disappointed without fail. I've been looking forward to Sunday with great anticipation and excitement. Yet, in the world of dating an officer those feelings can easily be swiped off the map. Chancho has just texted me informing me that he took on another officers paid detail because he hurt his foot and can't do it. So being the wonderful guy that he is, he decided to take his shift. In questioning him further with clenched teeth about what time it would be for, I got the lousy answer of 3pm-1135pm. Now this isn't too bad. He can still go to the beach, but he needs to leave 2 hours before 3 to make it there on time, if not 3. Which means...he'll have to leave around 12. To me that doesn't make any sense because the sun doesn't get high enough in the sky to allow you to enjoy until 12 if not 1, when he would be packing up to leave. I know I shouldn't be complaining or upset about this because he needs the money, but I was so looking forward to this day together. It would be one day out of many months that we would be able to go out at as a couple and hang out with other couples and have a normal day. Now I get less than half of a day with him. It's very frustrating. I swear if he gets an arrest tonight and he can't even come, I'm gonna have a few choice words for him. I don't know if I'm being selfish or not and I should just suck this one up to him being a cop, but I would have appreciated a thought when he decided to take his friends paid detail. He knows, or at least we've discussed how I am having trouble with him not being around a lot especially lately and for him to take this assignment makes me think he doesn't take my feelings into account. Selfish? or maybe selfless in giving up quality time to help out a friend who can't work and needs someone to cover for him.

Another point to make, he not only is letting me down by not coming, but he has a handful of friends that were hoping to spend time with him. They haven't seen him in over a month because of work. They only get a glimpse of how he's doing, by my short sentences of "oh he's good....working...a lot". Every day that he has off he is working and when he isn't, I selfishly take him for myself. I have been working on that lately, but it's been rough in the sharing department. I will leave that to me adjusting to my new lifestyle. I am so used to having only a few weeks with him when I come home from college; I keep forgetting that I am here to stay this time and I can see him any other time. I just hope that they understand and don't wind up pushing him away because he keeps canceling plans or can't make plans with them.

Quote from Chancho: The only thing worse than being a cop is dating a cop...